James van Hoften

James Dougal Adrianus "Ox" van Hoften (born June 11, 1944

STS-51-I: Discovery (August 27 to September 3, 1985) launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During this mission, the crew successfully deployed three communications satellites, the Navy's Syncom IV-4, Australian AUSSAT, and American Satellite Company's ASC-1. The crew also performed the successful salvage of the ailing Navy Syncom IV-3 satellite. These tasks included two extravehicular activities (EVA's) in which Dr. Van Hoften attached to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) performed the first manual grapple and manual deployment of a satellite in orbit. The mission also included the Physical Vapor Transport of Organic Solids (PVTOS), the second material processing experiment to be flown aboard a Shuttle for 3M. The mission was accomplished in 112 orbits of the Earth in 171 hours, 17 minutes, 42 seconds. he was appointed a non-executive director of Gatwick Airport.

Organizations Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Sigma Xi, Chi Epsilon, and Pi Kappa Alpha.

Awards and honors Meritorious Service Medal Navy Air Medals, twice National Defense Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal NASA Space Flight Medals, twice

Physical description Weight: 200 lb (91 kg) Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Hair: Brown Eyes: Hazel